Once upon a time the mere mention of a Bollywood vamp could raise hackles. Garish make-up was a trademark feature of these ‘bad’ women and the bouffant hairstyle just added to the evil look. But the winds of change washed away that golden age of vicious vamps, giving rise to a new breed of grey-washed babes who romanced the hero and often kept him at the end. But we miss those wicked wily women and, yes, we even miss all the hamming and the melodrama they only they could do so well…

The successors to Lalita Pawar and Manorama, the wicked women from a long time ago, are way more subtle and sophisticated and, as they confidently get into the mould of a mean and brutal babe, we find that the modern-day vamp bears a striking resemblance to the modern urban woman of real-time here and now. And because she doesn’t comply with the norm, people place her in the ‘wrongdoers’ category without thinking twice.

Let’s take a look at women who have given Bollywood movies an interesting twist, one that has encouraged B-town filmmakers to look at female actors as people who can do a lot more than just running around the trees and swaying in their chiffon saris…